Is it over
for the “King of Clay”?. I’m referring
to Rafael Nadal, a tennis legend, who has bagged nine French Open titles to
date. The critics and naysayers seem to
have written him off. Headlines such as – “Rafael Nadal has hit rock bottom,
Rafael Nadal slips on clay again, crashes out of Italian Open , Rafael Nadal
drops in ATP rankings” tend to reinforce
their belief.
Based on
stats, Rafa’s performance has dropped significantly (Source: ATP):
Out of 10
tournaments (Clay : 6, Hard court: 4)
since January 2015, he has only won one i.e. the Argentina Open, Buenos
Aires (defeated Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-1).
Rank (May
2015): Number 7 (4990 points).
French Open
champion: 2005-2008, 2010-2014.
It’s an arduous task,
with so much negativity surrounding him, and it would be a disappointment to
see him lose his mojo at this point in his career. As in all sports, “It ain’t over til the fat
lady sings”.
